Workflows, digital documents, standardized KPIs

Many companies in Germany map core HR processes - personnel data management, payroll or time management - with the integrated functions of SAP Human Capital Management (SAP HCM).

For decentralized companies, this means that the person responsible on site, i.e. the branch or plant manager, is confronted with HR-related processes, especially those relating to employment contracts:

He or she draws up and checks the employment contract when hiring, extending a fixed-term contract, de-fixing a fixed-term contract, transferring or terminating a contract. However, in addition to him, the central HR organization and possibly an HR business manager in the regional HR department are usually involved in these processes.

Manual processes slow down HR work

In most cases, coordination between these parties is manual and paper-based, making it quite complex. Accompanying documents - contract, personnel sheet, forms, application documents - are printed out and often sent several times by mail.

In a hiring process, for example, there is then no clear view of the entire employment contract process. As a result, the parties involved have to inquire about the current processing status of the process by phone or e-mail whenever necessary.

In general, the numerous media discontinuities also increase the throughput times. Just imagine the runtimes that occur in a company that has more than 100 stores throughout Germany and executes work contract processes as described.

The store or plant manager must therefore allow considerable lead time for the hiring process, and there is bureaucratic overhead that results in high costs.

It is significantly easier and more efficient if the hiring process, as well as other HR processes such as the processing of overtime requests, are workflow-supported and thus standardized, consistent and automated.

This requires the use of an IT solution that is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with SAP HCM, such as the Location Suite from Treorbis. It has a modular structure and is based on Web Dynpro for Abap.

Workflow framework

The central core of the Location Suite is its powerful generic and thus flexible workflow framework, the HCM Process Manager. Here, all personnel data is centrally recorded, managed and, if required, automatically forwarded directly to the right departments with all the necessary documents for further processing.

The days of tedious paperwork, illegible hand records or waiting for information are over. Even the branch or plant manager is always well informed.

A cockpit with traffic light functions shows him important deadlines, such as the expiry of a time limit, so that he can initiate the corresponding measures on time with a click of the mouse.

Employment contract within hours

Thanks to the continuous flow of data and documents, contract-related processes are streamlined and throughput times are significantly reduced.

With Treorbis Location Suite, a hiring process takes only a few hours, from the collection of personnel data to the submission of a contract ready to be signed.

Such a rapid response increases the attractiveness of a company as an employer among applicants and means an image boost that should not be underestimated.

The quality of the data also benefits, as all information only needs to be entered once. Whether it's a hiring process or a contract change - a workflow forwards the required data directly to the appropriate departments in the regional or central HR organization.

The sequence of the individual work steps is precisely defined, as is which data is to be entered by the HR manager on site and made available to the respective departments.

Data transmission at the touch of a button

Once all the details have been checked and approved by the relevant HR departments, the person responsible generates the ready-to-sign employment contract and all other necessary documents at the touch of a button.

The contract is printed out and signed, scanned in along with the other documents, and automatically assigned a QR barcode. This guarantees that the documents are processed smoothly, clearly assigned to the correct process in the form of an "electronic circulation folder" and archived in an audit-proof manner.

Process-related documents such as contracts, questionnaires, or forms can be quickly and easily created as PDFs using predefined text modules stored in the HCM Process Manager, even in the corporate design of the respective company.

To ensure process reliability, further processing is only possible once all the necessary documents are available. Status tracking automatically informs the employees involved about pending tasks according to their role and authorization.

Once the process is complete, all information and the corresponding documents are transferred to SAP HCM at the push of a button, where they are assigned to the correct SAP infotypes or stored in the electronic personnel file.

Uniform KPIs

Once the contract-related HR processes have been harmonized across the company, uniform HR key figures can also be formed that can be used for analyses. With the help of the HCM Analytics software module, which is an integral part of the Location Suite, the branch manager can, for example, call up current KPIs on employee fluctuation, salary or age structure.

Comparisons between the employee performance of one's own location and that of other branches or the company as a whole are now also possible, which provides important information for improving HR work. A central dashboard presents the HR key figures in a graphically clear manner, and they can be refined to the desired level of detail by drilling down.

HCM Analytics is based on the SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards solution, and data is stored in an SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW). The Location Suite is also being continuously developed and improved - and in doing so, the trend towards IT consumerization is also being taken into account: As an alternative to the "classic" web screen display, certain HR processes will in future be visualized on the modern and intuitive SAPUI5 interface (Fiori).

On the test bench

In the course of planning and implementing workflow-supported HR processes, many very different challenges have to be overcome. When implementing a corresponding project, one should therefore rely on an experienced HCM service provider such as Treorbis, which has comprehensive know-how, a structured implementation method and a certain tact in bringing innovations to the users.

As part of an as-is analysis, the processes in the company are first critically examined, then improvements are developed for each individual step. Among other things, processes are combined and the number of accompanying documents is reduced.

The existing IT landscape is also put to the test. An incremental approach has proven helpful here. Using the BPMN method (Business Process Model and Notation), a prototype for the end-to-end processes is first modeled, successively tailored to the customer's requirements and refined until it is ready for implementation.

The effort and costs involved in setting up IT-supported workflows remain manageable. The workflow components - screen layout, transition between process steps, data transfer or document control - are mapped in the Location Suite in the form of reusable components.